A 38-year-old Kansas City woman long suspected in the fatal shooting of KCUR reporter Aviva Okeson-Haberman was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison in a separate federal drug case. www.kcur.org/news/2026-04...

Undergrad: "We're going to build a subway network!" Grad student: "We can build light rail!" Early career planner: "BRT is a cost saving service as good as rail!" Grizzled planner: "What if we somewhat improved the existing bus service"

Hitler’s Edifice Complex www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The city’s plan commission advanced plans last week to convert the 12-story George B. Peck Dry Goods building, 1044 Main St., into a mixed-use building with 74 apartments and over 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. www.kansascity.com/news/busines...

Higher energy prices and uncertainty over the war in the Middle East will boost inflation and weigh on economic growth, a new forecast says. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/b...

The proposed change would slash the in-lieu fee by 95% — from $100,000 per unit to just $5,000. The proposed ordinance, introduced by Mayor Lucas, is part of an effort to bring developer requirements at city-run economic development agencies in line with Port KC. thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026...

From cowboys to labor leaders, David Griscom's debut book calls on Texans to reclaim their leftist roots—and examine who buried them in the first place. www.currentaffairs.org/news/unlearn...

Brooklyn’s Watchtower Buildings Might Become Housing www.curbed.com/article/broo...

Oil traders wagered bets worth $580 million just minutes before Trump announced he had “productive conversations” with Iran to end the war, suggesting that the president’s announcement was nothing more than a ploy to manipulate markets. trib.al/LiiAT8D

If the measure passes, Kansas City will continue collecting a 63-year-old tax on wages, salaries and profits. If it fails, the city will be forced to find another source for hundreds of millions of dollars — or else make dramatic cuts. thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026...

K-shaped recovery

Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent and a longtime Trump ally, was in a custody battle over his son. An ICE official agreed to help. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/20/u...

“Do you backpack a lot” - person in the Crossroads “What!?” - me “It’s a compliment. You just look like you walk a lot. Like really know how to walk.” - person Uh, yes, I do walk a lot. Weirdest but most accurate compliment I’ve gotten.

A coalition of 24 states, along with a dozen cities and counties, sued the Trump administration on Thursday over its decision to relinquish the government’s legal authority to fight climate change. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/c...

Now I’m definitely stopping at Cozy Inn when I’m in Central Kansas this weekend kansaspublicradio.org/local-news/2...

Mr. Kent is the highest-ranking Trump administration official to quit in opposition to the conflict. He said pressure from Israel had pushed the president into war against Iran. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/w...

A fake soldier duped a million patriots for OnlyFans cash. It’s a sign of more worrying things to come. www.fastcompany.com/91507096/jes...

Even in car-centered KC, whenever they close the streets to vehicles, it becomes PACKED with pedestrians. the people crave walkability, we love to shop!

Unless we behave like the Town of Kansas

Brookside. 39th Street. River Market. 18th and Vine. Westport. All of these neighborhoods — largely built before 1950 — would be illegal to build under today’s zoning laws. Soon, the Kansas City Council may consider legislation that aims to change those regulations. thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026...

It’s so funny that FIFA gave Trump a Peace Prize and a few months later he threatened to kill a national team that qualified for the World Cup.

The Strait of Hormuz, a busy waterway off the coast of Iran, has come to a near standstill. If the war drags on much longer, it could mean higher prices for consumer goods around the world. www.wired.com/story/how-th...

Mortgage rates in the United States are rising again, ending — for the time being — a decline that had offered hope to home buyers struggling to afford housing. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/b...

Outdated targeting data may have resulted in a mistaken missile strike, according to the ongoing military investigation, which undercuts President Trump’s assertion that Iran could be to blame. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/u...

Kansas City's proposed budget for next year doesn't include any increase in funding for its transit agency. Without more money, the agency warned it may need to cut nearly a third of its routes. www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

X’s Grok is failing to accurately verify video footage from the Iran conflict and is sharing its own AI-generated images about the war. www.wired.com/story/fake-a...

Places such as Minnesota and Austin, Texas, already use green infrastructure like rain gardens to absorb stormwater and keep pollution out of streams and lakes. Now communities across the Kansas City area could get on board. www.kcur.org/environment-...

“This literally could not be happening at a worse time,” says Josh Linville, the vice president of fertilizer at financial services company StoneX. www.wired.com/story/trumps...

“How am I going to sell my house with this crap in my backyard?” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority promised free fares would continue for some people, but it hasn’t released a plan for them. Nonprofit providers and riders are concerned that people will fall through the cracks in the meantime. www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

The order, which has been dismissed by legal experts, falsely claims that Trump can declare an emergency based on foreign interference in elections and seize control of US elections. www.wired.com/story/heres-...

The U.S. experienced net negative migration in 2025, with an estimated loss of 150,000 people, a trend not seen since the Great Depression. www.wsj.com/us-news/amer...

Three American jets were shot down over Kuwait during “an apparent friendly fire incident” while they were taking part in the campaign against Iran, the U.S. military’s Central Command said in a statement on Monday. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/w...

“The high-school dropout’s path to success included a controversial Christian nationalist church & an assist from a Russian-American power broker with ties to both the Kremlin & convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein—but practically no experience with nuclear energy” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Man Arrested in New York Snowball Fight That Police Said Injured Officers www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/n...

My parents were complaining during our Sunday call about their property taxes in Central Kansas. Of course I also heard them complain earlier this year, and over Christmas, and last year. Turns out it’s largely because of commercial tax breaks. www.kcur.org/housing-deve...

As it faces mounting criticism, PortKC wants to expand its authority beyond Kansas City and obtain the extraordinary power to establish its own armed police force, called port rangers. www.kansascity.com/news/politic...

Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

In addition to staffing up at a furious rate, ICE and CPB are acquiring a vast cache of weapons from private contractors, new data reveals. newrepublic.com/article/2069... via @newrepublic.com

Someone should give Kansas City a gold bar to fix our combined sewer. Or build transit to the airport. apnews.com/article/japa...

The Trump administration told Congress it won’t share with lawmakers the classified intelligence that led to a whistleblower complaint against U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard, citing presidential claims of executive privilege. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Kansas City could take its biggest & boldest shift yet away from its notorious history of car dependency & support more walkable development. But the proposal to change city rules around what some see as scarce — parking — is drawing mixed reactions from neighbors www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...

New investors headed by Exact's Caleb Buland soon will buy the George B. Peck Dry Goods Building, aka Peck's Plaza, at 1044 Main St. for $30 million. Plans call for 74 apartments, 13,134 sq ft of lower-level commercial & 3,053 sq ft of residential amenity space. www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n...

The United States appears to be preparing for war with Iran — and Trump hasn’t rallied the country like his predecessors. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

WSJ - Trump administration considering a possible executive order or other action that would require banks to collect citizenship information from customers. www.wsj.com/politics/policy/t...

As Trump pushes voting restrictions, states have a rarely used option to push back stateline.org/2026/02/20/a...

Data analytics company Palantir’s abrupt announcement that it is moving to Florida comes just after the state’s lawmakers boosted corporations’ legal power to prevent workers from leaving for competitors. jacobin.com/2026/02/pala...

Massive investment in AI contributed “basically zero” to U.S. economic growth last year, Goldman Sachs has calculated. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

An alarming current attempt to use spurious accusations of antisemitism to attack press freedoms wasn't recently carried out by the Trump administration. It was at the hands of Manhattan’s liberal district attorney, Alvin Bragg. jacobin.com/2026/02/wilk...